Europe and North Africa have launched a diplomatic offensive to try to prevent Libya, with the increased involvement of international players in its conflict, from turning into a "second Syria".

Libyan strongman Khalifa Haftar's capture of the strategic city of Sirte on Monday was a major setback for Tripoli's UN-recognised government, analysts say.

Arch-foes Tehran and Washington may be temporarily calling it even after Iranian missiles targeted US forces in Iraq, but analysts predict violent instability will keep blighting Baghdad.

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg spoke with U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday and agreed that the western allies should take a more prominent role in the Middle East.

EU leaders met the head of Libya's U.N.-recognized government Wednesday as they scramble to contain the escalating crisis there, with Germany warning the country could deteriorate into a "second Syria."

The United Nations mission in Iraq said Wednesday the country should not be made to "pay the price" in the escalating conflict between Tehran and Washington.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin called for a ceasefire in Libya following a meeting in Istanbul on Wednesday. 

Amnesty International Wednesday condemned a Bahrain court's decision to uphold death sentences against two men convicted of murdering a police officer, saying their trial relied on confessions extracted by torture.

Several international airlines said Wednesday they would avoid Iranian and Iraqi airspace after Tehran fired ballistic missiles at bases housing US troops in Iraq.

Iraq's prime minister's office said Wednesday it had received "an official verbal message" from Iran informing it that a missile attack on US forces stationed on Iraqi soil was imminent.